Is Carousell profitable in 2026?

Yes, Carousell announced on 2026-07-07 that it turned EBITDA-positive in FY2025, with revenue of about $141M, up 18% year over year from $119.3M in FY2024. The exact EBITDA figure was not disclosed, and profitability follows two rounds of layoffs.

Carousell is privately held. Major investors include Telenor (32% stake via a 2019 merger with 701Search), OLX Group (10% stake from a 2019 $56M investment), Naver Corp, and STIC Investments, which led a 2021 round valuing the firm at $1.1B. No IPO has occurred as of July 2026.

Could AI replace Carousell?

Unlikely soon. Carousell's Gemini-powered 'List with AI' tool automates listing creation, cutting median listing time to under two minutes and boosting items listed per seller by 20%, but this strengthens the platform rather than replacing its network effects or its 29 physical authentication stores as of end-2025.

Is Carousell laying off staff?

Carousell has cut staff twice recently: about 110 roles (10% of headcount) in December 2022, and 76 roles (7% of headcount, 46 in Singapore) in December 2024, both preceding its FY2025 EBITDA-positive announcement on 2026-07-07.

Who is Carousell's biggest competitor?

Carousell's CEO has directly named Facebook Marketplace, Shopee, and Lazada as competitive pressure as of July 2026, alongside specialist rival Vestiaire Collective in luxury resale, though none has yet visibly taken measured category share from Carousell.

Is Carousell a unicorn and is that valuation still current?

Carousell reached unicorn status with a $1.1B valuation after a $100M STIC Investments round on 2021-09-17. As of its July 2026 profitability announcement, the CEO declined to give an updated valuation, and no new funding round has been confirmed since.

E-commerce and marketplaces · Singapore

Carousell

carousell.com ↗

Singapore-based secondhand marketplace app for Southeast Asia, now pushing into physical recommerce stores.

Defensible for now

Assessed 22 July 2026 · Evidence as of 22 July 2026

Real protection, with named pressure against it.

On the recordSince 22 July 2026 · Checkable from mid-2027 reporting · Every call on the record Checkpoint: FY2026 EBITDA results, testing whether profitability holds after two rounds of layoffs

The call

Carousell turned profitable for the first time by leaning into physical authenticated resale, a business Facebook Marketplace and Shopee haven't built.

Carousell buys and sells used items through a phone app and 29 physical stores, checking that products are real before customers trade them. Facebook Marketplace is a free rival that could pull away shoppers, though Facebook does not run physical stores or verify authenticity the way Carousell does. The company just started making profit last year by cutting costs, so the biggest question is whether that profit will stick around or disappear if business slows down or if Facebook Marketplace adds authentication services in Southeast Asia.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI tools help sellers write listings faster on Carousell itself, but no AI agent replaces buying and selling used goods locally. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Facebook Marketplace. Meta's free, already-installed marketplace sits inside the same social graph Carousell needs for trust and reach in Southeast Asia. Could a giant copy it? Probably.

What protects it. 29 physical stores with in-person authentication and consignment give it a real inspection layer Shopee, Lazada, and Facebook don't run.

What would change this call

Facebook Marketplace expands SEA classifieds investment and gains category-level engagement in 2026-2027. Would show the core free-listing business is losing sellers to a larger platform.
Shopee or Lazada launches an authenticated secondhand vertical with physical inspection. Would show the recommerce moat is being replicated by adjacent giants.
Carousell's FY2026 EBITDA result, reported in mid-2027. Would show whether the first year of profitability holds or reverses.

Key numbers

FY2025 revenue $141M, up 18% YoY (2026-07-07)
Recommerce grew ~40% YoY, now 45% of revenue (2026-07-07)
29 physical stores across 4 countries by end-2025 (2025-12-31)

Named risks

EBITDA profitability is only one year old and followed two rounds of layoffs, making it fragile. Severity: high
Recurring data-security failures, including a S$58,000 PDPC fine over a breach affecting 2.6M+ users disclosed 2024-02-23. Severity: medium
Named incumbents Facebook Marketplace, Shopee, and Lazada could invest further in SEA classifieds. Severity: medium
Valuation has stayed near $1.1B since 2021 with no new raise or IPO signaled as of July 2026. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Facebook Marketplace	contesting	Named by Carousell CEO as competitive pressure as of 2026-07-07, no measured share loss reported
Shopee	contesting	Named directly by Carousell CEO as regional pressure, July 2026, structurally focused on new goods
Lazada	contesting	Named directly by Carousell CEO as regional pressure, July 2026
Vestiaire Collective	contesting	Specialist VC-backed luxury resale rival cited alongside Carousell in competitive reporting, 2026

Questions people ask

Is Carousell profitable in 2026?: Yes, Carousell announced on 2026-07-07 that it turned EBITDA-positive in FY2025, with revenue of about $141M, up 18% year over year from $119.3M in FY2024. The exact EBITDA figure was not disclosed, and profitability follows two rounds of layoffs.
Who owns Carousell?: Carousell is privately held. Major investors include Telenor (32% stake via a 2019 merger with 701Search), OLX Group (10% stake from a 2019 $56M investment), Naver Corp, and STIC Investments, which led a 2021 round valuing the firm at $1.1B. No IPO has occurred as of July 2026.
Could AI replace Carousell?: Unlikely soon. Carousell's Gemini-powered 'List with AI' tool automates listing creation, cutting median listing time to under two minutes and boosting items listed per seller by 20%, but this strengthens the platform rather than replacing its network effects or its 29 physical authentication stores as of end-2025.
Is Carousell laying off staff?: Carousell has cut staff twice recently: about 110 roles (10% of headcount) in December 2022, and 76 roles (7% of headcount, 46 in Singapore) in December 2024, both preceding its FY2025 EBITDA-positive announcement on 2026-07-07.
Who is Carousell's biggest competitor?: Carousell's CEO has directly named Facebook Marketplace, Shopee, and Lazada as competitive pressure as of July 2026, alongside specialist rival Vestiaire Collective in luxury resale, though none has yet visibly taken measured category share from Carousell.
Is Carousell a unicorn and is that valuation still current?: Carousell reached unicorn status with a $1.1B valuation after a $100M STIC Investments round on 2021-09-17. As of its July 2026 profitability announcement, the CEO declined to give an updated valuation, and no new funding round has been confirmed since.

Timeline

2026-07-07Carousell announces FY2025 EBITDA-positive results, revenue of $141M, up 18% YoY
2026-04-01Carousell partners with SPX Express to expand delivery and logistics network
2024-12-06Carousell cuts 76 roles (7% of headcount), 46 in Singapore
2024-04-02Carousell acquires Singapore luxury bag reseller LuxLexicon
2024-02-23Carousell fined S$58,000 by PDPC over data breaches affecting 2.6M+ users
2022-12-02Carousell cuts about 110 roles, 10% of headcount
2021-09-17STIC Investments leads $100M round, valuing Carousell at $1.1B
2020-09-01Naver Corp leads $100M round, valuing Carousell over $900M
2019-11-01Carousell merges with Telenor's 701Search, combined entity valued over $850M
2019-01-01OLX Group invests $56M for a 10% stake in Carousell

Revision history

22 July 2026

First assessed. Defensible for now. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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